Ecobank declares N40.3bn profit before tax in Q1

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) has released its first-quarter (Q1) 2021 unaudited results for the period ended March 31st, 2021 showing remarkable performance in all the key financial indices.

The pan-African bank recorded a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of N40.3 billion, representing 22 percent increase over the N33 billion reported at the same time in 2020. Profit After Tax (PAT) closed at N30.5 billion.

The result submitted to the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Monday indicated gross earnings of N214.3 billion representing 10 percent increase against N194.9 billion during the same period in 2020. Similarly, revenue went up by 15 percent to N 164.6 billion; operating income before impairment losses up by 37 percent to N 67.0 billion, and total assets went up 1 percent to N10.4 trillion.

However, loans and advances to customers went down by 1 percent to N 3.6 trillion and total equity also reduced by 2 percent to N8 trillion.

Analysts linked this remarkable improvement in the bank’s financials despite global economic challenges to its digital platform and innovative products and services.

“We are focusing on achieving execution momentum in our payment business, the sustained reliability of all our platforms, driving increased adoption of our products and services, bringing our Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio low and exceeding the expectations of our customers to truly be the pan-African bank that Africa trusts,” Ade Ayeyemi, Ecobank Group CEO, said.

He noted that “these, together with all our investments and achievements to date, will enable us to collectively grow revenues and generate long-term return of capital to our shareholders, despite the near-term challenges from COVID-19”.

Hope Moses-Ashike

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.